TBM disaster relief volunteers fan out along Texas Gulf Coast

Texas Baptist Men volunteers load bottled water and other supplies bound for the Texas Gulf Coast. (Photo / Ken Camp)

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Eleven days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, Texas Baptist Men volunteers were providing disaster relief at two-dozen sites along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Through Sept. 5, TBM—joined by Southern Baptist disaster relief workers from 13 other states—had worked more than 100,000 hours and contributed 3,600 volunteer days.

And as new areas became accessible and new needs become apparent, disaster relief continued to expand.

Texas Baptist Men disaster relief volunteers work at a field kitchen set up outside the shelter at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. (Photo / Ken Camp)

In less than two weeks, TBM volunteers and their ministry partners prepared 239,000 meals and delivered 15,000 boxes to help residents collect and store their scattered possessions.

They provided access to 4,200 showers and washed about 2,700 loads of laundry.

The mud-out process of removing damaged drywall, soaked flooring and other debris from homes was in its early stages, but volunteers already had completed 50 tear-out jobs and 54 mold-mitigation assignments.

In the process, TBM volunteer chaplains and other workers distributed 689 Bibles and nearly 500 gospel tracts, and they recorded eight professions of faith.

One TBM crew traveled with Texas Task Force 1 to provide the search-and-rescue team with meals, laundry service and access to showers.

Houston-area residents remove damaged furniture and other debris from their flood-damaged homes after Hurricane Harvey. (Photo / Ken Camp)

In addition to working at sites along the 200-plus miles from Victoria to Nederland, TBM volunteers also provided childcare and chaplaincy for Gulf Coast evacuees who were housed at a shelter at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas.


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In the near future, volunteers from Texas Baptist churches who want to provide hands-on assistance to families or churches in the Greater Houston and Southeast Texas areas can find lodging and access to showers at Volunteer Villages.

Churches near affected areas will receive short-term volunteers from other congregations around the state and provide them with basic overnight lodging, typically in a gymnasium or other church facility. TBM will work with the churches to give volunteers their assignments. For more information, click here.

To contribute financially to TBM disaster relief, click here (http://texasbaptistmen.org/GiveNow) or send a check designated “disaster relief” to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron, Dallas 75227.

 

 

 


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